Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2023

May 26, 2023

The President. You knowâplease, have a seat. Everybody but Blumenthal and Doug. [Laughter] I've been trying to get them to stand for me for years. [Laughter] For years.

Well, welcome to the White House, everybody. I really mean it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being here. And knowâI tell you, it's a really honor to have you all here.

And congratulations to the nineteenâto 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions, the UConn Huskies!

Doug was going all through central America tellingâtalking about you guys. And you've got to stop getting in parades. [*Laughter*] You know what I mean? *Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona. *I'm back in action.

The President. You're back in action? [Laughter] All right.

Well, we also have the firstâthe Second Gentleman here. "Second Gentleman"âthat sounds ridiculous. This guy is a hell of a lawyer, and he gave up his practice so his wife could be Vice President of the United States of America. But he's stillâ[*inaudible*].

Well, I tell you what, Dick, your boys done it, man. And I want to thank everybody for being here today.

And members ofâyou know, we have a few people who went to UConn and kind of like it, you know? [*Laughter*] I was telling the president of the university that when I was in schoolââ

[*At this point, a toddler in the audience cried.*]

That's okay. Look, she's allowed to do anything you want. [*Laughter*] Kids rule in my house, okay? What's the matter?

Audience members. Aww.

The President. What's the matter? [Laughter] I don't blame you. I'm bored with me too. [Laughter] Yes. How you doing?

How old is she?

Audience member. [Inaudible]

The President. Two years old. I tell you what, that's a good age. [Laughter] Hold her tight.

Well, at any rate, look, all kidding aside, when I was in college, I didn't play basketball. I played football. But I didâand one of my best friends, a guy named Pete McLaughlin, and he played for Providence Collegeâused to be competitive with you guys back 100 years ago. [*Laughter*] Andâbut we always talked about Connecticut. And we had a couple great basketball players from the University of Connecticut from Delaware who happened to be women basketball All-Americans.

Audience members. Yay!

The President. Butâany rate, we also haveâyou know, we got a guyâwe needed someone to be the Department of Education, and we found this guy, Cardona. You know what I mean? [Laughter]

Miguel has four different degrees from theâyour great university, and he's been aâyou know, I don't knowâbut oneâbut he couldn't make the team. [*Laughter*] That's the realâhe knows UConn has broughtâhe's been one of the great fans for years, a Connecticut guy.

And look, one of the premier programs in the country, you all have. And that's not hyperbole, it's a fact. Thirty-six NCAA tournaments. Six Final Fours. Five national titlesâ'99, 2004, 2011, 2014, and this year. Not bad, guys. Not bad.

And you started this year, you know, unranked, and then you went 14-and-oh. And just to keep everybody's interest, you lost the next six of eight gamesâ[*laughter*]âand they counted you out. It's not bad, isn't it? But you got a coach who decided that doesn't matter. And, hell, he knows something about how to win.

Heâby the way, he's brandnew to basketball, in the family. [*Laughter*] You knowâbut you bounced back with a resounding 15â2 run. That ain't bad, man: 15â2 run.

Startedâseededâyou were a fourth seed, and you won every single game by double digits; in the final blowout, a fifth national championship. Congratulations. Congratulations. Nothing like a comeback, man. I think you all did that deliberately. You know what I mean? [*Laughter*] To keep peopleâlook, you know, andâand did it all as a team, and the whole country could see it. Anybody who loves basketball watched it all.

When three players fast through Final Four because ofâit falls during the holy month of Ramadan, the country sees what it means to commit to something bigger than yourself.

And when another star player scores 16 points after being sick all night with food poisoningâ[*laughter*]âhe's nuts. I mean, I don't know how the hell you did that, man. [*Laughter*] I don't know how you did that. Prettyâyou know, it gets the sense of what it means to dig deep and show up for others.

And you know, with Coach Hurley's family in the stands, on the sidelines, on the court, and the country got to see what it means to devote your whole life to a shared passion. And, Coach, you had an unwavering and unyielding belief in this team, and it was clear, and it made a difference.

This team is proof that there's no quit in UConn, just like there's no quit in America. None. There's nothing we can't do when we believe we can do it if we do it together. And that's exactly what you all did. You stood up.

And that's what sports and this country is all about: possibilities. Possibilities.

And one more thing: I hosted the LSU women's team earlier today for their championship title. Jordan, I heard you and your cousinâyou know, Angelâplayed one-on-one growing up. Is that true?

Guard Jordan Hawkins. We did.

The President. You did? [Laughter]

One's the child of a brother; the other, the child of a sister. So I've set up a basketball court on the South Lawn. [*Laughter*] There's a court down there by the tennis courts. And, Jordan, your uncle thinks he can take you as well. [*Laughter*] So I just want you to know that we're going toâ after this, we're all going down to see that one-on-one game.

I tell you what, man, it's in the blood, isn't it? [*Laughter*] It's in the blood. What a greatâ what an incredible thing. What an incredible thing.

And congratulations to the whole UConn Nation. It's got to make you feel good.

How many here areâfamily members have a son or a daughterâa son up here? A mom, dad, brother, sister out there? Raise your hand.

Look at whose hand goes up first. I've got to find out what your name is. [*Laughter*] Whatââ

Child. Luke.

The President. What's your name?

Child. Luke.

The President. Do you know anybody up there?

Child. My dad.

The President. You're kidding me. [Laughter] Hi. What's your name?

Audience member. Go ahead. Say it in the microphone.

Child. Cash.

The President. Cash, I tell you whatâI want to know who your haberdasher is, man. [Laughter] You're looking good.

Anyway, look, this is a family affair. I want to wish youâthank you all for being here.

And you know, there's nothing likeâthink about anyâwhenever the Nation has been down, what's always brought us back? Sports. Sport. And thank God we're not down yet. But you guys are something else. And I wish you all the best of luck in the whole world.

How many of you graduate this year or leave this year? Well, you've gotâwe've got room on the team down here too, you know what I mean?

So thank you so very, very much.

Madam President, thank you. I started to ask the president about the team, and she started to tell me it was a great team, but then she started to tell me all the other significant things that happened at UConn. Okay? [*Laughter*]

And so I just want you to knowâand I want to just wish you all the best of luck. And God bless you all.

And I'm going to turn this over to Coach Hurley. Coach.

[*The President pointed to the podium microphones.*] *The President. *Any one you want to do.

Head Coach Dan Hurley. ItâIâIââ

The President. And by the way, he married a Jersey girl too. [Laughter]

Coach Hurley. Jersey girl. It's worked out pretty good for both of us. Yes, no doubt.

The President. We both married way above our station.

Coach Hurley. Yes, we did. [Laughter] Yes, we did.

I always would really dread speaking after Geno Auriemma. This is a whole 'nother levelâ [*laughter*]âwhole 'nother level of fear right here, coming up here. So I'm going to stick to my script. [*Laughter*]

Yes, so, Mr. President, you know, you grow up in sports, and obviously, you know the sacrifice and commitment, you know, it takes to achieve anything great. But you know, you grow up, you're working and competing, you know, dreaming of achieving something, like, really enormous, something really big in team sports.

And it's, like, the first thing that comes to your mindâright?âwhen you do something big and win that incredible championship is like: You know, we get to go to the White House and meet the President of the United States. And it's such an honor to meet you, President Biden. So thank you for having us here.

And it's an honor that you truly got to earn, you know? Toâyou know, to earn one of the greatest honors in sports, you'veâyou know, you've got to work. And obviously, you never forget it. You know, but you earn it through having tremendous, you know, culture and brotherhood, you know, which we work to every day to develop as a program.

Obviously, this team'sâyou know, their abilities on the court, you know, were unmatched in terms of anyone in the country. This was, you know, truly the elite teamâyou know, the elite team in college basketball.

We had the greatest leadership in terms of what we got from our older players in Andre Jackson and Adama Sanogo. We had a really miserableâ[*applause*]. Yes. Right? You know, like politics and sports, two tough businesses to get into, right? [*Laughter*]

You know, January was a rough month, and the leadership of those two men, you know, really got us through a really difficult time. And you know, this becomes, you know, one of the greatest teams in UConn's storied basketball history. This team right here. So I couldn't be prouder.

Mr. President, Dr. Biden, Vice President Harris, Second Gentleman Emhoff, and the White House staff who have been unbelievable todayâyou know, it's crazy too, by the way, right?

These cameras and all theâ[*laughter*]âyou know, the people playing the music. [*Laughter*] Tellingââ

The President. You're telling me!

Coach Hurley. No, you know what was crazyâI've got to say this too: The police escortsâ we could get used to that. [Laughter] Right? And particularly when you're in Houston, man.

Those copsâthe police there in Houstonâman, they were a well-oiled machine. We were getting places fast. [*Laughter*]

But on behalf of UConnâUniversity of Connecticut, the great State of Connecticut, and then all of Husky Nation, I just want to thank you and your administration, you know, for providing for us like what will be a day and memories we will never forget.

And then, as a token of our appreciation over there, we're going to have our captains, Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson, Jr., present you with that UConn jersey. [*Laughter*] You don't want him posting you up, President. [*Laughter*] That's a big boy.

The President. No, no, no, I want him standing next to me. [Laughter]

[*Guard Andre Jackson, Jr*., *and forward Adama Sanogo presented the President with a team jersey.*]

The President. I thought these guys were standing on risers. [Laughter]

NOTE: The President spoke at 5:12 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Sen. Richard Blumenthal; Douglas C. Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala D. Harris; Radenka Maric, president, University of Connecticut; Hassan Diarra, guard, and Samson Johnson, forward, University of Connecticut men's basketball team; Angel Reese, forward, Louisiana State University women's basketball team, and her father Michael; Jasmine Hawkins, mother of Mr. Hawkins; and Andrea Hurley, wife of Coach Hurley. Coach Hurley referred to Geno Auriemma, former head coach, University of Connecticut women's basketball team.

Categories: Addresses and Remarks : NCAA men's basketball champion University of Connecticut Huskies.

Locations: Washington, DC.

Names: Blumenthal, Richard; Cardona, Miguel A.; Diarra, Hassan; Emhoff, Douglas C.; Harris, Kamala D.; Hawkins, Jasmine; Hawkins, Jordan; Hurley, Dan; Johnson, Samson; Maric, Radenka; Reese, Angel; Reese, Michael; Sanogo, Adama.

Subjects: Basketball; Secretary of Education; Vice President.

DCPD Number: DCPD202300470.